A ‘legend’ says that Modigliani, before leaving for Paris in 1909 to become an artist of world renown, threw some of his sculptures reportedly, some female heads into the canals of his hated hometown in 1909.
What could be better than to resurrect it, and hope that there’s some underlying truth in it to create a bit of buzz to guarantee the success of the artist’s centennial?
Four kids decide to make a prank and throw a homemade head into one of the canals. The next day, the fake head was found along with two more sculptures.
Everyone seems convinced about the authenticity of the three heads. But Jeanne Modigliani, the artist’s daughter and the controller of his legal archives in Paris, doesn’t believe the story and decides to go to Livorno.
But Jeanne will never manage to reach Italy, because her corpse was found in her home in Paris. It was billed as a domestic accident and the case was quickly closed.
The Modigliani Affaire is an investigative documentary, a cold case that tells the incredible story of a prank that got out of hand and one of the biggest scandals in the art world.